As always they get to the nub of it and speak in a language that human beings understand
Here’s what they say in their weekly newsletter
Well they did it… almost… sort of. On July 14th Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) announced a comprehensive piece of federal cannabis decriminalization that will likely see a full Senate vote sometime around September of this year…maybe. We have long wondered what federal cannabis reform might look like and although the Democrats’ proposal leaves a lot of questions unanswered, we now have a better idea of what they’re planning to attempt.
If you have been reading our work for a while, you have likely seen us disparage the “half-step” of decriminalizing cannabis at the state level, rather than taking the full step of recreational or at least medical market regulation. At the federal level, however, decriminalization probably makes the most sense since 19 states have beat Uncle Sam to the rec weed punch and all 19 have slightly different laws. Instead of scrapping all of that and trying (in vain) to create a one-size-fits-all approach, the Feds seem to be content with letting states do their thing… as long as they pay up.
Lawmakers are seeking opinions and feedback on the plan they floated earlier this month so let’s take a look at what we know and what we don’t:
THE GOOD (?)
If passed as written, the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (or CAOA lol Dems suck at this) will completely remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act. That’s great. There was a fear they would just bump it down to a lower schedule which would be a nightmare.
This will automatically lead to more financial and insurance options that are sorely needed in the industry.
The act will also mandate that the government allocate resources for the study of the plant. This includes forcing the VA to study what benefits our vets could experience from the plant.
Jurisdiction over the plant will be yanked from the DEA – a death nail in their coffin we hope – and handed over to the FDA, the ATF, and the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. Sounds like a headache of an alphabet soup but anything is better than the dickheads at the DEA retaining power over the plant.
The social equity reforms proposed in the bill leave a lot to be desired but represent a night & day change from how our government treats these issues currently.
THE BAD
This bill proposes the addition of a 25% excise tax on all cannabis sales ON TOP OF the already egregious state-level taxes. If implemented, this could lead to over 50% of the cost of the product being added onto the sales total in the form of cumulative taxes for local, state, and federal governments.
FUCK THAT. We realize that the only way any of these jerks ever gets on board with cannabis reform is when money is waved under their noses but this would be the biggest gift you could give to every dimebag-pushing street dealer in America. It will be completely unsustainable.
THE UNKNOWN
We are still unsure of how interstate commerce will be treated, though we assume it will be handled a lot like hemp is now. That brings up a good point – this bill, if passed, would be separate from and have no bearing on the 2018 Farm Bill that legalized hemp.
Some more details HERE but this thing is a work in progress…
